| Good Morning Everyone, Our theme for this month: “Fresh wind, fresh fire” Our Bible verse for today: “…but our citizenship is in heaven.” Philippians 3:20 (CSB) Our thought for today: “Stay focused on what really matters.” As we continue to consider our need for fresh wind in our sails and fresh fire in our souls, and as we discuss some of the reasons so many of us are feeling physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually drained, we need to think about what’s going on inside our own heads. What are you thinking about? What issues and events are you dwelling on? To what are you assigning the most importance and the highest priority in your thought life? At the moment we’re all caught-up in a series of cascading events which are all difficult by themselves but when taken together, are a bit overwhelming. The COVID 19 pandemic, the economic meltdown, the social unrest resulting in riots and increased danger for all of us, along with a very nasty political environment, along with all the regular issues of life – all going on at the same time – has all of us exhausted, edgy, and maybe a little cranky. That then can easily lead us to overreact to situations and to make a big thing out of little things. Psychologically and emotionally we can easily be triggered by things that normally wouldn’t bother us too much, and we can end up reacting in ways that are inappropriate or not helpful. A big part of the problem revolves around what we choose to allow our minds to focus on. Many people are consumed with thoughts about the economic damage that has been done to our economy, and they are angry about the protests and the riots, and they’re irritated by the constant attacks and criticisms of their favorite political candidate. If we’re not careful we can end up brooding about those issues, steaming and stewing, thinking about all we believe to be wrong with other people’s motives, and basically allowing ourselves to be sucked into a sense of anxiety and despair. Well, those issues are all important, and they do deserve our time and attention, but they’re not the most important. As Christians we are citizens of heaven first, citizens of the USA second. We are to be concerned about the kingdom of God on earth first, and the situation in our country second. We are to be guided by Biblical principles first, and concerns about current events second. As children of God we have a higher calling here on earth that demands our first allegiance and our full attention. Those are the things we should be focused on first and foremost. That’s where our thoughts should primarily be – on the things of God and on His work on earth. Too often Christians allow themselves to get so involved in, concerned about, and wrapped up in the events of the world around us that we lose sight of what’s truly most important. Worse, sometimes we allow our thoughts and concerns for the issues of the day to infringe upon and even damage relationships. We need to keep first things first. We do need to pay attention to the issues of our day, but we need to pay more attention to the things of God and to our part in His work here on earth. Thinking a little more about the work of the kingdom, and a little less about the political, social, and economic issues of the day, will go a long way towards giving us a sense of fresh wind inour sails and fresh fire in our souls. God Bless, Pastor Jim |
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